osprey_archer | (Reply)

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I think one of the things about epiphanies is how they can you/us/the main character in a story realizing the truth of some well-touted wisdom. I remember suddenly understanding the concept of the sins of the fathers being visited on the descendants for multiple generations didn't have to mean simply that later generations were punished unfairly for the crimes of their ancestors but that also it could be expressing just a sense of the terrible ripple effect of an action. I mean, that sense of it was surely in the concept from the beginning, but it took me a long time to realize it. And same with "If I hold myself aloof... people may think that I'm cold and unfriendly!" --I think I had a version of that epiphany when I realized that people who seemed cold and unfriendly might be shy, unhappy, etc. (i.e., that story's epiphany but from the surrounding characters' point of view). It's the fact at arriving at the realization rather than the novelty or depth of insight of the realization.